In the Middle

I wrote this while I was still in Kentucky, but I never had a chance to post it.

So life has become a little more difficult now that I do not have internet at home. Nor am I allowed to go on the internet for personal reasons while I’m at work. I have so much to do that requires internet access! I still need to find a storage shed and I’d like to do more research about Egypt.

I “started” packing today…meaning I started to pack up the clothes I haven’t been using this summer. But then I realized I was planning on taking all my clothes home and going through them carefully and deciding what to bring. I think it would be easier this way. I remember Austria was awful because I had packed my bag thinking I was completely prepared, but then I realized “it would be nice to bring this, and to have that, too.” I made a mess of my neatly packed storage bins and my suitcase before I was completely ready. Sooo…I’m keeping everything open until D-day. I’m beginning to realize this is the last week that I will be able to see anyone I know for about ½ a year. Ok, 5 months, but it isn’t much different. During the spring semester this sounded like an excellent idea because I really needed a break from everything and everyone. I just wanted to get away and hide for a while. What better way to do so than to take off for a semester! Well, it is actually the last motive for going, but it seemed like an extra perk to the trip.

Now that I have had a chance to relax and enjoy just sitting around doing practically nothing for hours on end, I’m not so sure taking off is such a great idea anymore. But I think my fears are getting the best of me. This happened a couple years ago when I went to Austria, but I also had friends who were going along. Now, I’m going solo. Scary! Luckily, I have a couple friends who are familiar with Egypt and the Arab world.

The other day I met a Syrian man who helped me realize I had formed at least one fallacy, even though I thought I was conducting legitimate research. I had watched a few clips online about the increase of head coverings in Egypt. It seemed young, Muslim Egyptian women were returning to wearing scarves. I also saw in the same clips crowded streets in Cairo where the majority of women were wearing head coverings. However, the Syrian I spoke with told me most Egyptian women do not wear Hijab. I had planned on wearing a head covering every time I went out to avoid unwanted attention. Long, curly blonde hair generally isn’t the norm in Egypt. The Syrian advised I should dress normally and that if I was going to be attending the American University, I would already be more conservative than the majority of students there. I was wearing a long shirt that buttoned high on the chest and was loose fitting…generally not my normal choice of costume. I still plan to dress conservatively whenever I am going outside of the university. I want to blend as much as possible.